You just gotta love kindness
by Kunaigirl
Summary: Shuuhei desires a peaceful world. Not the heartless things he sees daily. Then he finds a form of peace in the most unsuspected place. Will he be able to protect it?


Hey everyone! This is a short story for Hisagi Shuuhei and Kotetsu Isane because I believe they'd be perfect together!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

Even though he would never say it out loud, Hisagi Shuuhei hated fights. He tried looking everywhere for the kindness he so desperately needed. Kira Izuru was the same, he didn't like using his zanpakutou and was happy that it wasn't designed for that either. But Shuuhei was another story, his zanpakutou was as if the devil itself had designed it. As if one swing could reap life itself away.

Strolling through Seireitei Shuuhei looked up. On both his sides young Shinigami passed by, hurrying to go and train to become stronger. He sighed. 'More warriors on the way.' He would often lose hope when he saw the 11th squad hurry over to every minor fight they could find.  
Entering the 9th squad barracks he sat down and took a look at the enormous amount of paperwork he still needed to do. Ever since Tousen had disappeared he had been in charge of everything. Taking a deep breath he started working.

Not too long after he started he heard a knock on the door. Then a silent, kind voice spoke up.  
"Fourth division vice-captain Kotetsu Isane."  
"Come in." he said in a confident voice. His confidence however disappeared when he saw she had even more paperwork with her.  
Seeing his expression she smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I had to bring this over."  
He dropped his head in defeat. "Don't worry about it, just put it somewhere."  
Isane doubted whether or not she should just leave it there, it was clear that there was just too much work for one vice-captain on his own.  
"D-Do you want me to help?" she asked.  
He looked up with an expression in-between doubt and astonishment.  
"Would you?"  
Isane smiled. "Sure, just tell me what must be done."

Shuuhei stretched his arms over his head. Finally they were finished with everything. Isane had been a great help. She understood things quickly, worked swiftly and never complained. The only thing that bothered him sometimes was that she had no confidence in herself. As if something had wiped it all away once.  
"This is the last." she said.  
"Aa, thank you very much." he said.  
"I'll go now." she said while walking over to the door.  
"I'll walk you back." he said while standing up.  
"Oh, you don't have to." she replied while waving her hands, a small blush forming on her cheeks.  
"Of course I don't, but I want to. You've helped me greatly." he replied in a tone that didn't tolerate any more objections. Isane nodded and smiled kindly.

"So, are you sure it was okay for you to help me?" he asked as they walked through the streets.  
"Of course, I was off duty anyway."  
"Then why did you offer to help me if you were finished for the day?" he asked curious.  
"It looked like you could use some help." she replied while looking at the ground, trying to hold back a blush.  
He smiled seeing her like that. "Well, thank you."  
"Are things that bad in your squad?" she suddenly asked.  
He looked up. It wasn't mockery that showed in her eyes. No, it was truthful care. "The moral's been going down that's for sure, but it's my job to keep them going."  
"You're strong." she mumbled.  
He looked at her. "So are you."  
"I don't think so. I don't think I'd be able to keep the squad together without Unohana-sama."  
"You don't give yourself enough credit." She didn't reply, as if she was thinking.

"Well, we're here." he said as they arrived at the barracks of the fourth division.  
"Thank you for walking me back." Isane said while bowing politely.  
"Don't worry about it. You helped me first. It was a big help."  
Isane smiled and walked back to her quarters.

Wanting to turn around and walk away, Shuuhei bumped into Captain Unohana.  
"Oh. Good evening Captain Unohana." he said while bowing.  
"Good evening. Is everything alright?" she asked in her super kind voice that scared even the toughest warriors.  
"I'm fine, I owe your vice-captain a lot."  
"I see. But I doubt that she will see it like that."  
"Huh?" Shuuhei had always thought that Captain Unohana was a bit weird, but now she was even scarier, seeing her face to face and all.  
"She's the 'No one gets enough kindness in life' kind of person. She wouldn't want you to think you owe her anything."  
Shuuhei was taken aback by the calm way the captain pointed that out.  
"Now I shall retreat to my quarters so that I can send my subordinates off tomorrow morning."  
"Aa." he mumbled, forgetting to be polite in his confusion.

'She's not the kind of person that will think like you owe her anything huh?' he thought as he sauntered back to the 9th barracks. Suddenly he thought about the kind way Isane looked at everyone. No signs of hate, nor annoyance, just…kind. The blush that had graced her face had just been plain cute. He turned his gaze towards the sky. She was not the most beautiful female Shinigami, so he had never really thought about her. Next to Matsumoto and Yoruichi she'd fall into the background, but there was something about her that he had just come to realise. Something only she possessed and it irritated him that he could not put his finger on it.

"Isane, can I have a word with you?" said Unohana in her soft voice.  
Isane stood up from her bed and opened the door. Upon seeing her captain she bowed politely and invited her in.  
Unohana sat down and looked at her pupil in front of her. Examining Isane's look and demeanour. "Isane, I hear from Hisagi-kun that you've helped him."  
Isane blushed. The calm way of speaking scared her even though she knew her captain as a very kind and wise person.  
"Y-Yes I did."  
"May I ask why? You had the rest of the day off."  
"He looked like he could use some help. His Captain's gone and he's been forced to do everything by himself. It must be tough on him."  
"Are you sure there's nothing more?"  
Isane blushed. "That was the main reason I gave you." she replied in a soft voice.  
"I see. I'm glad you did what you felt like doing."  
Isane looked up, as if only now realising that she had done the one thing she had been jealous of Hanatarou about.  
"Apparently." she mumbled.  
Unohana smiled. "Now, you must get some sleep. You must be fit to protect the soldiers tomorrow."  
"Yes."  
Unohana stood up.  
"Thank you Unohana-sama." Isane mumbled.  
"Don't worry about it. Now, get a good night sleep."  
"I will."

"Okay, we'll ambush the hollow in this area." a brown haired Shinigami said while pointing a spot on a map. "Did you all get that?" he asked.  
They all stood up.  
"Oh and Kotetsu-san. Perhaps it's better if you too stay out of our way."  
Isane, already used to the way people referred to the fourth division let it slip. "Okay, we'll back you up." She nodded to the two Shinigami behind her who nodded back.

Back in Seireitei Shuuhei sat back in his chair and looked out of the window. 'I can't believe this much paperwork gets in in just one day.' he thought. His eyes shot open as a hell butterfly flew towards him. 'The team is…?!'  
Immediately standing up he ran towards the rest of his squad.  
"We're ordered to go and aid the team that was in charge of defeating a hollow to the west of Seireitei in the Rukongai. We're going to go to their aid!"  
"Hai!"

Isane pulled out her sword. "Run! Itegumo!" She slashed through a smaller hollow. She turned around to her team. "Take the survivors and run! I'll try to slow them down!"  
They nodded, picked some of the Shinigami up and ran away as fast as they could. Isane turned to the hollow. He was huge, but that wasn't what was scary about him. He had the ability to create smaller ones who'd attack them in groups of 20. 'This is not the time to be afraid!' she told herself as she grabbed her sword with both of her hands.

"We must hurry!" Shuuhei yelled to his team. A weird feeling was creeping up. 'Wasn't Isane-san going on a field mission today?' he thought.  
Flashback.  
"Are you sure it's okay to help me?"  
"Of course, I'm off duty now anyway."  
"Already?"  
"Yes, I have a field mission tomorrow, so I got the rest of the day off."  
"Then why are you helping me instead of preparing?"  
"I already prepared."  
'Shit.'

Isane looked at the cut in her arm. She frowned and dodged another attack coming from one of the minor hollow. She was worried about the rest of her team. Did they get away? How is the situation of the other team members? Are they dead? She bit her lip and tried to focus on the enemies currently surrounding her. 'I must try to attack them all at once.' she thought looking around her. 'Changing location is the best thing I can currently do.' Without a second thought she jumped over the huge hollow and ran towards the clearing they had found a few metres farther away. Arriving there she dodged an attack.

Shuuhei encountered the Shinigami Isane had been in charge of. "Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes searching hints of fatal wounds or fatigue.  
"No, thanks to Kotetsu-sama we were able to get away." a young female Shinigami replied.  
Shuuhei frowned. "Where's she now?" he asked.  
"She told us to run, I don't exactly know where she is." she replied. "But you must be aware of the hollow, he has the ability to…"  
He never heard the end of it. Making a move with his hand and he and the rest of his team jumped up.

Isane got thrown to a tree. Her vision blurred for a second. Her eyes widened and she found herself just barely dodging another attack. 'Think Isane!' she thought as she clamped her sword tightly. She sighed as she took a dangerous decision. "Way of destruction No 31: Red Shot of Fire!" The red ball hit the huge one in the face. Breathing heavily she jumped up and appeared right behind him. "Way of Binding 61: Six Rod Prison of Light!" Six rays of light enveloped the creature keeping it in place. At least it should keep it in place. Its tail however hit her hard, throwing her towards the forest floor. Breathing heavily because of the hit Isane stood up. She had a terrible headache because of her previous falls. Looking up she saw the tail aiming for her once more. Her eyes widened.  
A sword collided with it before it could even get close to her.  
"Are you okay?" Shuuhei asked.  
She nodded dumbfounded. "Why are you here?" she asked.  
"We got orders to come to help the team." he replied. "Is this the one?" he asked looking at the hollow.  
"Yes, but he makes smaller ones, that's why the fight's hard."  
"I see." he replied. "You all take care of the small fry, I'll take the boss!" he yelled at his subordinates.  
"Hai!"

Isane's binding spell had made it easy for them to defeat him. In less than twenty minutes it was all over.  
"Can you stand up?" he asked while extending a hand to her. She nodded, took his hand and got pulled onto her feet.  
"I should go to the rest of my team." she mumbled as Itegumo took its normal form.  
"We'll go with you."

"Vice-Captain!" the young female Shinigami yelled as she saw Isane run over to them.  
"What's wrong Hanabi?" she asked.  
"We've healed the wounds of the Shinigami, but…"  
"But?" Isane asked.  
"We think they've been poisoned."  
"By what?" Isane asked, fearing the worst.  
"It seems that the Shinigami who claim to have been hit by the hollow's tail are poisoned."  
Isane's eyes widened, her eyes trailed off to her left arm. Blood still seeped out of it. "Do we have an antidote?"  
"No, we've already sent the message to Captain Unohana."  
"Good work."  
Shuuhei had noticed the frightened look in her eyes that had been there for less than a second.  
"Hisagi-san, are your soldiers hit by the tail?"  
"No, I was the one fighting the big one."  
Isane's eyes shot with worry. "Are you hit by it?" she asked immediately checking his temperature by putting a hand on his forehead.  
"No…you?" he replied while trying to push back a blush.  
She pulled her hand back, also blushing and without thinking looked at her left arm.  
"I'll be fine." she replied and quickly walked off to a soldier with a minor cut.  
'Isane-san…'

Isane felt a fever coming up. 'Is Unohana-sama ready with the antidote?' she thought as she tried to focus on the soldier. Her vision started to blur once more. "I'm sorry, I'll finish it later." she said as she shakily stood up. She was determined to get to the tent a few metres further, but after three steps she lost her balance. She felt a comfortable warmth.  
"You're poisoned aren't you?" Shuuhei asked her ensuring his hold on her upper arms.  
"I think so." she whispered. "But I don't want to worry Unohana-sama's subordinates." He nodded. "Let me help you to your tent."

When Isane opened her eyes, she was no longer in the tent. As she tiredly looked around she saw the well-known interior of the 4th division barracks. Groggily sitting up she looked at the people around her. At her left there were Unohana-sama and Hanatarou and on her right, to her great surprise, Hisagi Shuuhei.  
"I'm glad you woke up." Unohana said.  
Isane nodded slowly.  
"Let's go Hanatarou." she said and the young medic followed her after bowing for Isane.  
"You look better." she heard Shuuhei's deep voice.  
"How did I get here?"  
"You lost consciousness while I helped you to your tent. I sent a hell butterfly to Captain Unohana who immediately came with her bankai to pick us all up."  
"I see."  
"Don't ever scare me like that again." he mumbled under his breath.  
"Huh?"  
"I thought we'd lost you."  
A blush crept onto her face, suddenly aware that his fingers had entwined with hers.  
He stood up, stooped and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm glad you're better." he said before leaving.  
Sitting there Isane didn't know what to think. Had all that really happened? She smiled and lay down, making a mental note to ask Unohana later. Somehow she was sure she'd know. Then she closed her eyes knowing very well of who she'd dream.  
'I love you Shuuhei.' she thought before drifting off.

The End?

Well that was it! ^^ It was a lot of fun to write a one-shot again! I'm not sure it's worked out well, but I liked the drama in it! Normally their first kiss was going to be when she had just helped him out, as a sort of thank you, but somehow it just didn't work. Nevertheless I hope you liked it. Please R&R! ^^

Until the next ShuuheiIsane story!


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